searching for a good bookMarion on the bric-a-braccake stall with lots to temptRaffle stall with lots of prizesMargaret Parker wins Oliviarefreshments tableslight shower outsidechilli jelly and lemon curdNhora collects prize

Summer Fair 16 June 2018

Story and photos Jim Paterson

Tea time at the Summer Fair

A
great crowd visited St. Mungo's church hall on Saturday 16 to be
tempted by the wide range of items on display. Though the clouds
gathered and a shower or two occurred it did not stop the numbers
arriving. Home baking, bottle
stall, knitting, books, jigsaws, tombola, birthday and special occasion
cards, plus of course the raffle. A special 'guess the teddy bears
name?' saw a few heads being scratched! Refreshments always at hand.
Avis
Anderson welcomed visitors at the door before they headed for the
tables full of home baking, with a great selection of cakes and home
made jams, including Chilli Jelly (that will wake you up!), and marmalade.

The
bottle stall, with Mary Paterson
and Barbara Sprott, once again had a wide selection of wines, spirits
and soft drinks just asking to be won. At 3 tickets for a pound someone
was sure to be a happy winner. Unfortunately it was not to be me this
year, with a complete washout selection.

Recent
additions of books, CD's, and DVD's attracted interest too. Mark Wells
held the stall, displaying a great selection of novels,
travel books, even a
set of jigsaws to keep someone occupied on a rainy day.

The
home baking stall was laden with a wide variety of cakes and delights,
with individual cheesecakes, fruit loaves, sponge cakes, cup cakes,
empire biscuits, snowballs, and a selection of scones. Joyce
Hunter and Margaret Black were on hand to help choose something from
the display. I bought early as they always disappear quickly.

Jars
of home made marmalade, lemon curd, and this year chilli jelly made by church members, promised to
brighten up any slice of bread or toast at breakfast time.

Visitors Audrey Marchant and Jill Kane displayed a wide range of knitting, including some every unusual pictures that Audrey is a dab hand at creating.

Isabel
Donnachie sat beside the biggest white Teddy Bear in the world. Guess
the name of the bear was the challenge. I tried my luck but was nowhere
near the right name, which in the end was chosen by Margaret Parker
whose choice of Olivia was closest to Olive that Agnes Ovenstone had
chosen and hidden in a sealed envelope before the event. Margaret tells
me that Olivia will be heading to one of her young granddaughters.

Susan
Duns was in charge of the Raffle Stall, and what a selection of prizes
were on offer. It was a full time job selling tickets during the
event. The winner selection at the close of the event took quite some
time to clear all the prizes. St. Mungo's member and Midlothian
councillor Debbie McCall, with the help of Agnes Ovenstone, helped with
the presentation of prizes.

Marion Mathers helped out on the
well stocked bric-a-brac stall. I was trying my hand at spotting a
bargain that would be worth a fortune at Antiques Roadshow. Sadly
nothing jumped out at me. Better stick to Bargain Hunt!

It
was good to see Heather Boyle again, displaying her range of self
made birthday and special occasion cards. With a number of birthdays
coming up I took the opportunity to select a few and solve that
problem.

Jenny Ramage was helping out at the tombola stall with more prizes for lucky winners to take home.

The
big attraction was the strawberry tea included in the ticket
price. There were strawberry tarts, and bite size
tartlets, cream buns, pancakes, or is that drop scones? Fruit loaf
slices, buttered or plain also adorned the refreshment counter. Coupled
with an endless supply of tea or coffee, brought to your table, made
for a spectacular spread..

Soon
it was time to draw the raffle prize winners. Debbi McCall, one of our
new Midlothian councillors in Penicuik, joined us to draw the winners.
With Agnes Ovenstone keeping the bag of tickets well mixed, no cheating
here then, Debbi called out the winners with Margaret Black handing out
the prizes. Lots of happy faces.

Agnes
Ovenstone announced to the congregation at the service on Sunday 17
that the summer fair made £834, plus a 10 Euro note. By Sunday 24
that had risen to £904. A new
record amount for our
summer fairs.

Well done to everyone for your
support, be it donating, baking, making, buying, or helping set it all
up. Thanks too to the social team for all their planning. It all looks
as if it just happens. That's the result of a lot of planning and work
behind the scenes, and the weeks of preparation.

Tombola almost sold out

Searching for that special occasion card

Audrey and Jill knitting

Published - 17 June 2018Updated 26 June 2018

Penicuik: St. Mungo's Parish
Church (Church of
Scotland). Scottish Charity No SC005838